Venomous Justice
by VenomSpider33
Summary: Agent Venom has lost everyone he held dear, and has just faced off with Jack O'Lantern, his worst enemy. About to arrest Jack, Venom finds himself in a world filled with heroes he's never heard off before. What is the Justice League, and what role does Venom play in their future? Set after Starcrossed and two years after Venom 35
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: The idea for this story comes from Agent G's fic, Justice League: The Spider and its sequel Web of Cadmus. This takes place two years after Venom moved to Philadelphia, and events in that two year frame will be mentioned in passing, and takes place after Starcrossed.**

**Chapter One**

**Philadelphia,**

Flash Thompson, the hero known as Agent Venom, stared at the bloody face of Jack O'Lantern, his arch-nemesis, as he laid at his feet. Venom himself was sporting a few broken ribs, and his left arm kind of hurt when he moved it. He knew he wouldn't be so banged up if he had gotten some help, but there was no possibility of that happening. He had pushed everyone away in his pursuit of Jack; Valkyrie, Hawkeye, the Thunderbolts, Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, everyone. All so he could hunt down Jack O'Lantern and take the bastard down. "What's wrong Eugene? Too busy imagining the screams your little girlfriend made as I scooped out your mom and sis' brains? Cause let me tell you, they were delicious! Did you know she screamed for you? Right up until I killed her !" Jack O'Lantern said, and Venom's features contorted in anger, his mouth growing fangs, and his arms turning into claws. He reared back to strike, and the blow impacted the ground right next to Jack O'Lantern's head.

'Calm down Flash. Even though there is nothing in this world you would like more than to kill him, you're just giving him what he wants.' Venom thought, and the suit began to turn back to normal. "I'm gonna make sure they lock you up, and throw away the key." He spat, and Jack just laughed.

"I got out before, Eugene. What makes you think I won't get out again?" Jack cackled, before he spat out a little blood. Venom reached for Jack, and then the world turned white.

The Justice League, consisting of Superman Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl were all gathered in the meeting room of the rebuilt Watchtower. "Thank you all for meeting me here." Batman said."I called you all to discuss something very important: The Justice League's future."

"Why do we need to discuss that? Seems to me we're going to be around for a long while." The Flash said, and Batman gave him the glare reserved for when someone said something they shouldn't have.

"There are problems with our current roster." The Dark Knight responded, and Hawkgirl squirmed in her seat.

"What do you mean by 'problems'? Is this about Shayera? Because if it is, then why don't you come out and say it!" Green Lantern said, rising from his seat.

"Hawkgirl's future in the League is a discussion for another day. The reason we're here is because our roster is too small." Batman said.

"What do you mean by small? Combined, we have more firepower than a standard military force." Wonder Woman said.

"There are only seven of us. During the Thanagarian Invasion, we were all captured, and we only escaped because Hawkgirl had a change of heart." Batman said, and he sent a glare at Hawkgirl that earned him one from Green Lantern. "Whenever a threat has overwhelmed us, we've had to receive outside help, like when Static helped us against Brainiac last year."

"Batman raises a valid point. Half of us have our own cities to protect, and because of that we only have two or three members available to take care of a crisis that the whole League could easily and efficiently take care of." J'onn J'ozz said.

"Not to mention the problems that arise if one of us falls." Batman said, referring to when everyone thought that Toyman had killed Superman.

"If we can't get in touch with Metamorpho, I can always go back to Oa and have either Kyle or Hal fill in for me." Green Lantern said, and Hawkgirl put her hand on his.

"No one could replace you John." She said. Their relationship had run into a major road bump when her people invaded, but they were working on getting it back on track.

"Is Supergirl ready?" Wonder Woman asked, and Superman fidgeted.

"Well, um… she's old enough, but she's never really worked with a team before." Superman replied. He had no doubt in his mind that Kara would make a great member one day, but she was still rough around the edges.

"Face it, no matter how hard we think about it, it'll be hard it find anyone. It's not like a good candidate for membership is gonna just fall out of the sky at our feet." The Flash said, and no sooner than those words left his mouth, a white flash filled the room, dropping a figure on the table. "It's not like a billion dollars and a whole Swedish bikini team is gonna fall out of the sky." Noticing the look Hawkgirl was giving him, he just shrugged. "What? I had to try?"

'What happened? Did Jack get away? Dammit, another failure on the long list of Flash Thompson's mistakes.' Venom thought. Meanwhile the other occupants in the room were all staring at the unexpected guest. He was wearing a black mask with two eyeholes on it, some type of combat-armor with a white spider design on the chest, and had spikes on the shoulders, elbows, and knees. Batman was the first one to react, grabbing Venom and pinning him to the table in a half-nelson. "Who are you, and how did you get here?" The Caped Crusader asked, and Venom started to get mad.

'Okay, so far, the worst week of my life. First I come home to find the bodies of three of the people I care about most in my living room, end up pushing away all my allies in the hero community, fight Jack, and now some jerk has me in a half-nelson. Fan-freaking-tastic.' Venom thought. "I am having the worst week in the history of terrible weeks, I have no freaking clue where I am, and do you really want to know who I am? I'M VENOM!" The suit then covered itself in spikes, forcing Batman to let go. Venom then delivered a kick to Batman's chest, forcing the Bat off the table. Batman recovered quickly, and threw a right cross.. Venom dodged to the left, but a buzzing in his head happened right before Batman delivered a left hook to Venom's jaw. 'That's new. Wonder what that was.' He thought, and as Batman threw a left hook, Venom grabbed him by the wrist and threw him on the table. "Listen, I don't know who any of you are, but I'm getting the hell out of here!" He yelled, shooting a tendril to the ceiling and swinging to another part of the station.

"Stop him! We don't know who is or where he came from !" Batman ordered.

"But don't hurt him. He's confused, and he could be hurt." Superman said.

"Got it." The Flash said, and he took off down the hall at super speeds. However, when he got to the point that someone without super speed would be at, he found no one there. "Guys, he's gone. I don't see him anywhere." He said.

"There have been no unauthorized shuttle launches Flash." Batman said over the comm link. Unfortunately, Flash didn't notice the air duct above his head slowly open

"Maybe he left the same way he came in?" The red garbed man said. Venom figured that he was a speedster, judging from the way he just appeared with a trail of dust behind him. Venom slowly pulled the grate off of the air duct, and then descended from a webline. Two seconds later, the Flash found himself hanging upside down from the ceiling, his arms and legs bound. "Aw, man, Hawkgirl's going to have a field day with this." He said. No sooner than he said that the rest of the League ccame around the corner. Hawkgirl looked at him with an amused expression."What are you looking so smug for? He got the drop on me!" The Flash said.

"Really? Cause it looks to me like you're just hanging out." She said.

"Oh ha ha, now can you please cut me down? The bloods starting to rush to my head." He said.

Meanwhile, Venom found himself in some sort of large hangar. He was headed towards one of the aircraft, when the green man from the other room rose up from the ground. "Please calm down. We do not wish to hurt you." Martian Manhunter said as the rest of the League came into the room.

"Calm down? My cursed life has gone to hell, and you expect me to calm down?" Venom yelled.

"Cursed?" Wonder Woman said.

"Where do I begin? My dad was a bitter old drunk, who beat me and my sister, and I took it out on kids at school and on the football field. After high school, I went and served in the Gulf War. I came back with some medals, and fell down into the bottle. Somehow, I managed to crawl out of it. Then, I went and served in Iraq, where I got my flippin legs blown off. When I got home, someone high up decided to bond me with an alien symbiote. On one of my first missions, I met a crazed killer, then on the mission after that, I ended up being chased by a super powered animal hunter in some tropical Arctic paradise, where I met the crazed killer and his boss, who then proceeded to kidnap my girlfriend, and I ended up having to fight the hero I idolized. Then, after I helped save the world from some spider-queen, during which my dad died of alcohol poisoning, that same killer blackmailed me into helping him. After I helped him, and I ended up having to save the world from a demonic takeover, that crime boss lead a team of super villains in a campaign to take me down. Not only was he revealed to be my girlfriend's long-thought dead brother and she ended up killing him, the girlfriend told me She never wanted to see me again. To make things worse, I found out I had a freaking demon inside me, then I ended hunting down a killer with the offspring of this suit and saving a whole tiny universe. I moved to Philadelphia, got a sidekick, and everything was fine for two years and it looked like me and the ex would get back together, until the killer got out of jail, killed her, my mother, and my sister and left in my living room for me to find."

"Hera." Wonder Woman said.

"Ever since I put on this suit, my life has gone to hell. It's been a poison that's destroyed my entire life."

"You can calm down. You are among people you can trust here." Martian Manhunter said, and that buzzing feeling that came right before Batman hit him was noticeably absent. What did Parker call it? Oh right, spider-sense. "You can rest now."

At that moment, the fatigue from recent events set in, and Venom fell to his knees, then promptly fell face down asleep.

"J'onn, I hate to ask you to do this, but can you read his mind and check if this is true?" Batman asked, knowing full well that J'onn hated entering people's minds without their permission.

"Very well but I can tell you from his surface thoughts that he's been through a lot of pain." The Martian said, and his eyes glowed signifying the use of his telepathy. "What he says is true. But I noticed things in his mind that lead me to believe he comes from an alternate universe." He said.

"I looked him over with my x-ray vision. He's got a few broken ribs, and that's about it." Superman said.

"Flash, help me take him to the infirmary." Hawkgirl said, and the whole League was left with one question in their heads: how the hell did he get here?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The first thing Flash thought of was his 'normal' life. His father beating him as a kid, him making one of his famous 'Hail Mary' passes, shoving Peter into a locker, decorating his room with newspaper clippings of Spider-Man the gulf war, his alcoholism, Iraq, and waking up to find out he had no legs. Then he thought of his 'other' life: being recruited into Project Rebirth 2.0, fighting Jack O'Lantern for the first time, being hunted by Kraven in the Savage Land, fighting Spider-Man in New York, Spider-Island, going to Vegas with Jack, stopping Blackheart, being recruited into the Secret Avengers, when Crime Master gathered the Savage Six and went after him, finding out he had a demon inside him, stopping Carnage alongside Scarlet Spider, fighting the U-Foes, his time with the Thunderbolts, moving to Philadelphia, fighting Toxin and working with him to take down the creatures that attacked the High School, taking out Lord Ogre's operation, Jack O'Lantern killing Andi's father, the Mania symbiote being created, the fight against Crossbones and the DOA, forcing Doc Ock out of Peter's body, and everything that happened after that. He then saw his worst nightmare: him with horns and a two bat wings, surrounded by the skills of Deadpool, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Mania, Thor, Hawkeye, Red Hulk, Scarlet Spider, and the rest of his friends in the hero community. Waking up, he saw he was in a room tied to a hospital bed surrounded by the seven figures from right before he passed out. "**Aw crap, it wasn't a dream**." He said, and Martian Manhunter extended his hand.

"I'm afraid so." He said, and Venom took it and got off the bed.

"Now, why don't you take off the mask? It'll be easier for us to trust you if we can see your face." Superman asked, and the mask promptly receded from Venom's face.

"Nice duds. Where can I get something like that?" The Flash said, and Venom looked at him with sadness in his eyes.

"Trust me, you don't want anything like this." He said. The sadness and regret was evident in his voice. Then his eyes widened. "Crap, how long was I out?" He yelled, and the suit covering his right wrist receded to show a watch with '47:35:15' on it and was counting down. "Thank god." He said, and the others looked at him with confused expressions.

"Okay, what's with the panic attack?" The Flash asked.

"Sorry about that. My suits a living organism, and I have to keep it sedated with Phenethylamine or it'll try and take over." Venom explained. "Now, can someone please keep tall, dark, and moody from punching me and explain to me where the hell I am?"

"You're on board the Watchtower, the space station that serves as the headquarters for the Justice League." Superman explained.

"Big blue guy is Superman, the green guy without any pants is Martian Manhunter, girl with the wings is Hawkgirl, the broody guy is Batman, the glowing guy with the ring is Green Lantern, Xena over here is Wonder Woman, and yours truly is the Flash." The Scarlet Speedster said, and Venom chuckled at that. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that 'Flash' was a nickname I got when I played football." The symbiotically enhanced veteran said, and the rest of the team could feel the headaches they would get from trying to distinguish the two when they would talk to each other.

"Do you need some more clothes? I can imagine that you're tired of wearing that costume." Wonder Woman said, and Venom just smirked.

"No need." And like that, Venom's costume shifted into a black t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Damn. That must be handy." Green Lantern said.

"This thing does have its advantages." Thompson said, and then looked out a nearby window.

"How did you get here?" Batman asked.

"No idea. I was just arresting Jack O'Lantern, the killer I told you guys about, when all of a sudden everything turned white. Next thing I know I'm in front of you guys." Thompson explained.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here until you can find a place to stay." Superman said, and Thompson smiled at him.

"Thanks. I'll do my best not to be a burden." He said, and The Flash draped an arm around him.

"Stock with me buddy. I'll take you places." He said, and dragged Thompson into another part of the station. However, Thompson couldn't help but think. 'If I'm here, then where the hell is Jack?'

In Crime Alley, named 'the worst place on Earth' by the citizens of Gotham City, a bright flash of light deposited a man who appeared to be wearing a broken pumpkin on his head. "So, Eugene didn't have the guts to finish me off huh? Ah well, another murder for another day!" Jack O'Lantern said, looking with glee at the new city before him.

**Two Months later**

Flash slid the maintenance panel back into place, and hopped off the ceiling onto the ground. Upon further examination by the Watchtower's medical devices, they found that during his transition between universes, the suit had fused to the nerve endings where his legs used to be, giving him back permanent use of his legs and access to the 'spider-sense' that Parker had told him about. Not having anywhere to go, he had been staying on the Watchtower for two months, and in return he helped perform the maintenance around the station. Now, Flash Thompson didn't have the slightest clue how to fix the cutting-edge technology that made up the space station, but J'onn had telepathically put the instructions in his head, and he was able to reach places the others couldn't. Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and the Flash watched as he dismounted from the ceiling and landed gracefully on his feet. Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl had sparred with him, and they could vouch for his Army training. "I feel kinda...bad." The Flash said, and the others looked at him.

"Why?" Hawkgirl asked.

"Well, we know practically everything about him, yet he knows next to nothing about us out of theses costumes. I'm thinking about letting him in on my secret identity." He said.

"What are you guys talking about?" The subject of their conversation said, walking over them.

"We were just discussing how helpful you've been around the station." Wonder Woman said. "But I've been wondering: do you have any intention of being Venom again?"

Flash thought on this for a moment. Ever since he was first bonded with the suit, his life has gone to hell. He considered giving it up, but then the words that Peter said so often rang through his head. 'With Great Power comes Great Responsibility'. "Yeah, I guess I will have to eventually. I mean it's not like I can just get rid of this suit now. It would be stupid to let it go to waste." He said. "Though I might not go back to Philadelphia. I've looked it up, and the crime rate over there isn't as bad as it was in my world, and this New York isn't filled to the brim with heroes like back home." He said.

"Flash, meet me in my quarters in 5 minutes. I have somewhere I want to show you." Came the voice of Superman over the comm device they had given Flash a few days ago.

"Sorry guys, gotta go. Big Blue's calling me." He said, and made his way to the living quarters of the Watchtower, and found Superman right where he said he'd be. "So, what do you need?" Flash asked.

"Well, I've been thinking: we know everything about you, and you don't know anything about us. So, as a gesture of trust, I thought I'd tell you my secret identity." Superman said, and Flash was dumbstruck. A hero's secret identity was one of their most closely guarded secret (though he hasn't really done that good job of keeping his a secret), hell the only reason he knew Peter's was because the Avengers had told him when they needed his help forcing Ock out of Parker's body.

"I don't know what to say, Supes. Uh, thanks." He said.

"Please call me Clark. Clark Kent." Superman said, and Flash raised an eyebrow.

"No offense, but you don't really look like a Clark to me." He said, and Superman smirked.

"Wait here for a moment." He said, and disappeared into his room. A few minutes later, it was like a completely different person stepped out. He was wearing glasses, his hair had been slicked back, and he was wearing a suit that hid his muscular build.

"Ok, NOW you look like a Clark." Flash said. "Let me guess, you were a geek who got beat up a lot in high school."

"How'd you know?"

"My best friend was a huge geek, and back in high school he was my number one target. Hell, I'm lucky that we were able to put that behind us." Flash said.

"Sounds like you two were close friends." Clark said.

"Yeah, well the funny thing is that he was the first person who wore this suit, which is why I have all of his powers, and I only found out his secret identity when I had to force his worst enemy out of his body." Flash said. "Imagine my surprise when I found out that my best friend was the hero I'd been idolizing for years." He said, and the two started walking towards the teleporter room. "So, where are you taking me?" He asked.

"You'll see. Just hold on a few minutes." Clark said, and the two stepped onto the teleporter pad, a flash of blue depositing them in what appeared to be a regular sized apartment.

"Smallville, how many times have I told you to stop doing that?" A feminine voice said, and Flash turned to see an attractive woman win black hair and dressed in a purple business skirt.

"Sorry Lois. I didn't think you'd be home right now." Clark said, an apologetic smile on his face. Lois then turned her attention on Flash.

"So, which one are you?" She asked, and Flash was confused by her question.

"Not quite sure what you mean." He said.

"Y'know, superhero! The only people that show up in our apartment that way are Clark and his work friends in the Justice League. So, which one are you? Let me guess, your that Question guy running around Hub City. No wait, you've gotta be that Green Arrow guy." The reporter asked.

"I'm Agent Venom." He said, and she scratched her chin in thought.

"Don't think I've heard of that one before. You new to the game?" She asked.

"Actually, I've been in the business for almost three years now. I'm not exactly from around here." Flash said.

"Flash, this is Lois Lane. She's a reporter for the Daily Planet, and my girlfriend." Clark said. "Sorry if she's a bit nosy. It's just how she is." He said.

"Don't mention it. She reminds me a lot of someone I knew once." Flash said, thinking back to Katy Kiernan.

"So, if you've been around for three years, how come I've never heard of you?" Lois asked.

"Well, y'see, I'm kinda from another universe." Flash replied.

"Another dimension? I would say you're a liar, but considering my boyfriends an alien, and we were just invaded by bird men, nothing surprises me anymore." She said.

"So she's knows that you're-?" Flash asked.

"Yeah, I know he's Superman. Only took him five years to tell me." Lois interrupted, casting a glare at Clark.

"Five years? I told mine after six months." Flash said, and Clark started to sweat from the savers Lois was casting at him.

"Six months huh? Must have been nice." She said, and Flash looked at the ground.

"Yeah, well, when your being chased by a crime lord and a team of supervillains he's assembled to hunt you down, and you need her to trust you, but she thinks you kidnapped her a few months before, it doesn't really leave a lot of options." He said, thinking back to when Crime Master formed the Savage Six in order to target him.

"Well, I think it's time I took you were I said we were going." Clark said. J'onn had told him of Flash's past, and he knew it was for the best to keep him from reminiscing while the wound was still fresh. The group all stuffed themselves into a car, and soon Flash was being driven through a futuristic city.

"Whoa. This place is beautiful." He said. Their were screens all over the city, displaying headlines like 'Superman stops Vandal Savage' or 'Superman defeats terrorists and saves UN Members.' "Sounds like they really like you Supes." He said, seeing all sorts of people wearing Superman shirts.

"Welcome to Metropolis, the city of Tomorrow." Lois said.

Two Hours later.

The group rolled through a small Kansas town with 'Smallville' written on the water tower. "So, any reason why we're taking the long way when we could have just teleported to wherever we're going?" Flash asked.

"Well, all the Justice League members have their own lives, with friends and family. Teleporting to where they live is too dangerous, because if the wrong people get ahold of the coordinates, our loved ones are all in danger." Clark explained, and he turned into a road leading to a farm. "And we're here. Flash, welcome to the Kent family farm." He said, and Flash looked around as he got out of the car.

"Heartland of America, raised on a farm, Midwestern family values…y'know, this actually explains a lot about you Clark." He said, and Clark chuckled as he lead Flash and Lois to the house.

"Ma, Pa, I'm home!" He said, and a man with a head of white hair and glasses came around the corner.

"Nice to see you haven't forgotten about the little people, Mr. Superman." He said, and pulled Clark into a hug.

"Sorry I haven't dropped by in a while. The League's been busy cleaning up the mess left by the Thanagarians." The Man of Steel said, and a woman who appeared the same age as the man came appeared from the other room.

"Clark, you're back!" She said, and joined in the hug. "I'd been wondering when you'd come home again." She said.

"Good to see you too Ma." Clark said.

"Lois, how have you been? I imagine the Thanagarian Invasion has been keeping you quite busy." The woman said, and Lois shrugged.

"It's kept me occupied for two months, but I need some news fast." She said, and then the elderly couple noticed Flash.

"Who are you?" The man asked, and the woman slapped his shoulder.

"Jonathan, at least have the decency to introduce yourself first." She said. "I apologize for him. I'm Martha and that's Jonathan." She said, and extended her hand.

"Flash Thompson, one of Clark's work friends. Pleasure to meet you Mr and Mrs Kent."he said, and shook her hand. Jonathan looked at Clark.

"Does he mean work or 'work'?" He asked, making air quotes around the second work.

"He's from 'work'. I met him a few months ago." Clark responded. Jonathan then clapped Flash on the shoulder.

"Well, if Clark trusts you with his secret identity, then who am I to argue?" He said, then turned to the staircase. "Kara, Lois and Clark are here, and they brought a guest!" He said.

In an upstairs room that was decorated with posters of boy bands and actor, a blonde girl was flipping through a magazine, when Jonathan's voice came through the door. "Do I have to be 'normal' for this one?" Kara In-Ze, also known as Kara Kent, and even more well known as Supergirl, asked.

"He's a 'work' friend." Jonathan said, and she leapt off the bed flying down the stairs.

"So, which one is he? Let me guess, he's the Flash. No wait, is he that Blue Beetle guy that's shown up in Texas?" She asked.

"Well, my nickname is Flash, but I'm not the guy you're thinking off." He said, and extended a tendril from his shirt to shake her hand. "Agent Venom, and you must be Supergirl." He said, and her jaw dropped as she saw the tendril emerge from his clothing.

"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you." She said, shaking the tendril. "So, what can you do?" She asked, getting over her shock.

"Well, whatever a spider can." Flash responded. "Basically, I can shoot webs and climb walls, and I can manipulate the suit I'm wearing to look like any clothing I want. See?" He said, and shifted his clothes into a tuxedo, then back to the black Army t-shirt and jeans he was wearing before.

"That must make clothes shopping real easy." Jonathan said, and a *Ding!* sounded from the kitchen.

"Oh, my lasagna's done!" Martha said. "Why don't you three join us for dinner? I'm sure you're all pretty hungry." She said. Unbeknownst to all of them, they were being watched by a sinister prescience.

"Target is indeed the Kryptonian identified as Superman. Prepare to attack on my mark."

**One Hour Later**.

Flash had never eaten a better meal in his life. Martha was a woman who knew how to cook, that much was for certain. "Thank's for the meal, Mr and Mrs Kent. I don't think I've ever been so full in my life." He said.

"Don't mention it. After everything you've been through in the past few months, I'd say that you deserve a home cooked meal." Martha said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kent." He said.

"Well, we'd best head back to Metropolis." Lois said.

"It's awfully late. Why don't you stay the night and head back to Metropolis in the morning? That way you'll be all refreshed and awake in the morning." Jonathan asked.

"Well, I don't see why not. What do you say Flash?" Clark asked, and Flash just shrugged.

"Anything's fine with me." He said, when his spider-sense went off. "Everybody get down now!" He yelled, and sure enough the room they were in exploded. Flash had managed to shield Jonathan and Martha, and a burning piece if wood hit Flash in the back, pinning him down, and Clark shielded Lois. Clark ripped off his shirt to reveal his superman outfit, and looked up to see three humans with bird wings.

"Thanagarians?" He asked. "I thought you all left Earth?" He said, and one of them, obviously the leader, a male with black hair and blue eyes, glared at him through his hawk shaped helmet.

"You were obviously mistaken, Kryptonian. We have come here t avenge our fallen comrades and our homeworld." He said, and Superman and Kara made to charge him, but he pulled out a glowing green rock, and the Kryptonian and the Argonian plummeted to the ground. "It is remarkable how easy it is to acquire your only weakness." He said, and brought the rock closer to them.

Flash saw the Thanagarian push the rock closer to them, and struggled under the piece of wood. 'Dammit, I don't know what that rock is, but it doesn't look too good. And I can't reach my communicator to signal anyone, and they need help fast! They need-' he thought, then realized where his train of thought was going. Betty, Jesse, and his mother were all dead because of the damned thing, by he couldn't let his mistakes hold him down any longer. Tendrils extended from his back and yanked the wood in half. His clothes turned black and started covering his body, his chest was covered in body armor, his shoulders and legs grew spikes, his arms became covered in some sort of black armor, a white patch appearing on the back of his hands, and his face was covered with a black mask with two eye-holes on it. 'They need Venom.' He thought.

The Thanagarian pushed the Kryptonite even closer to the two super-beings, and evil grin spreading on his face as he watched them squirm. "**Hey, Tweetie Bird!**" A voice called out, when suddenly one of the Thanagarians' foot was caught by a weblike line and he was slammed into the ground. The Thanagarians all turned to see Venom standing there, their fallen comrade lying next to him. "**Come and get some**!" He yelled, and a female using a sword divebombed him. He caught her slash and spun her into the ground. He was about to web her to the ground when his spider-sense flared. The warrior slashed him with her sword, and his soul felt like it was in fire. 'What the hell? Why is my soul on fire?' He thought, then remembered who his opponent was and what Hawkgirl had told him about her people's weapons. 'Nth Metal sword…hurts so much because of my half of the Hell Lord.' He thought. He dodged the next slash and delivered a symbiote-enhanced punch to the bird-woman's face, knocking her out cold. He then turned to the leader. "**I'm guessing your not going to give up, huh?**" He asked, and shot a web line at the rock in the leaders hand, yanking it into his.

"Kryptonite…get it away from here." Superman rasped out, and Venom arced his arm back for a throw.

"**Time for a Hail Mary pass**." He said, and using all his symbiote enhanced strength, threw the rock far away from the farm, and it landed in the Smallville Lake.

"You insolent human! You'll pay for that!" The leader yelled, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, his face soon met with Superman's fist.

"That's for wrecking the house!" He said, and turned to Venom. "So, does this mean you're back in the game?" The Last Son of Krypton asked.

"**Oh yeah. Agent Venom is back in action."**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bruce Wayne, better known as Batman, dodged a hammer-tendril from Venom and threw a flash-batarang, blinding the soldier, and charged him, pinning him to the ground. "You rely too much on the suit. You ignore technique and strategy in favor of brute force." He said, and got off Venom before extending his hand, which Venom gladly took. They'd been having sparring sessions like this frequently since the Thanagarian ambush, about three weeks ago.

"And you need to stop treating your sparring partners like their not trying to kill you." Venom said, rolling his neck.

"You sound like Robin." Batman said.

"You mean that kid who runs across the rooftops with you?" Venom asked, getting a nod from Batman. "I had a sidekick back home. Kinda worried about how she's doing without me, actually."

**Earth 616, Philadelphia.**

A girl wearing a female version of Agent Venom's costume, only her mask has bangs swept to the side of her head and spiked up hair in the back, held a thug above the city from atop the Liberty Bell. "I'm gonna ask you one last time: where's Venom?" Mania asked.

"I told you, I don't know what your talking about! I thought he was on some sort of Avengers thing. Those guys are always going into space for one thing or another!" He said.

"What about Jack O'Lantern? Where's he?" She asked, her fangs showing.

"It ain't October yet! Why the hell would there be any Jack O'Lanterns out yet?" He said, causing Mania to sigh. This guy was just like the last. Ever since Agent Venom had disappeared when he went to fight Jack O'Lantern three months ago, she had been scouring Philly's Underworld for any information. Spider-Man and Toxin were handling New York's seedy underbelly, Scarlet Spider was keeping an ear out in Houston, and the Avengers were searching the globe. Swinging down to the police station, she left him all webbed up with a bow on top.

**Back on Watchtower**

"Ah I'm worrying for nothing. She's a big girl, she knows how to handle herself." Venom said.

"Tell me more about your world." Batman asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly the best teacher, so I'm not that good at describing things, but for starters we-" Venom started, when a tendril planted itself on Batman's neck.

Batman saw a young boy, a 10-year old Flash Thompson, being yelled at by an older man.

"How many times have I told you to clean up this $ #%ing room? Goddammit, can't you do anything right sonny boy?" The older man said, striking 10-year old Flash across the face, giving him a bloody lip. The next image was of a now fifteen year old Flash shoving a scrawny brown haired boy with glasses into a locker.

"C'mon Flash knock it off!" The boy yelled, and Flash finished shoving him into the locker.

"You can come out when you're ready to be a man, Puny Parker!" Flash yelled, slamming the locker shut. The next was of Flash decorating his room with newspaper clippings of a man in a red and blue suit with a spider on the chest. Then Batman saw Flash enlisting in the Army, going to serve in the Gulf War. The next image was of Flash guzzling down a bottle of cheap whiskey, then of a man with short red hair and a maniacal grin force feeding hi whiskey and forcing him to crash into a high school. The next image was of Flash heading into Iraq, then getting his legs blown off while saving his commanding officer. Bruce then saw an Army General extending a hand to Flash, then of Flash sitting before a tube containing a slime like creature with a menacing face. He then watched as Flash was bonded to the creature, becoming clad in the costume the League had come to know. He saw the mission where he met Jack O'Lantern, being hunted by Kraven in the Savage Land, fighting Spider-Man in New York, Spider-Island, Blackheart's Invasion of Vegas, joining the Secret Avengers, the fight against Daimon Hellstrom and the DOA, finding out about the Hell Lord, fighting Carnage alongside Scarlet Spider, the fight against the U-Foes, moving to Philadelphia, meeting Andi, fighting Toxin and the Symbiote slayers, Lord Ogre, the creation of Mania, and then Venom and Mania standing in front of a blood-red man wearing a cape wrapped around him: Mephisto.

"You want me to remove the Mark from her, whether it is against her will or not?" Mephisto asked.

"She didn't ask for this. I'm the one you marked, so that's my burden to bear, no one else's." Venom said, causing Mephisto to chuckle.

"You spiders, always eager to make a deal with me in order to save someone without stopping to consider the consequences." He said. "I thought you'd at least have more sense than Parker did, but it seems I was mistaken." The Devil said. "I will not remove the mark from this child. Instead, you will both share this burden, each bearing one half of my chosen one's power." He said, and snapped his fingers, causing Venom and Mania to scream in pain as half of an upside-down pentagram appeared on their chests. The next two years went by in a blur, and eventually stopped on Flash wheeling to his door and opening it.

"Now, gotta make sure everything's all set for Betty this weekend. I'm sure Andi can handle-oh god." He said out loud, and what he saw made even the Dark Knight's stomach churn slightly. In the apartment sat three corpses, all women, with their heads carved open and candles where their brains should be, causing their eyes to glow eerily. "Mom…Jess…Betty." Flash mumbled, tears pouring down his face, but they were quickly replaced with his Venom mask as he bolted from his wheelchair, the culprit obvious. "Jack… I'm going to $& %ing murder you!" He said, and soon Batman was seeing Venom meeting the League.

Venom saw a young boy fall down a well, landing in a dark cave. The boy looked around, before a screeching sounded, and out flew a bat. The cave was then replaced by the same boy walking from a theatre alongside a man and a woman, his parents, walking down a dark alleyway. A figure holding a gun emerged from the shadows, and held his hand out for the woman's pearls. When he was denied, he shot the man and the woman, the pearls clattering to the ground. The child say above his parents corpses, a large bat symbol being displayed below the scene. The next image was of the boy, now a man, training, followed by his failed first attempt at vigilantism, then the famous scene of a bat crashing through the window of the study, the bat then becoming the symbol seen on Batman's chest today, with scenes of Batman fighting criminals like the Joker, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and Mr. Freeze.

"Whoa!" Venom yelled, pulling the tendril off of the Dark Knight's neck, falling to the ground.

"What the hell was that?!" Batman yelled, the mind-meld having weakened him to the point he had to sit down.

"I-I don't know. Nothing like that's ever happened before, and I don't even know what caused if to happen." Venom said. He had even thinking it would be easier if he could show Batman somehow Did the symbiote do that? No, he had just redosed it with sedatives an hour ago, there's no way that could have happened. Was it the demon bonded to his soul? Whichever one it was, he needed to find a way to get Batman not to kill him, considering his spider-sense was vibrating like a high school cheerleader's cell phone on a Saturday night. "What did you see?" He asked, and Batman relayed the images he saw in the meld. "Damn, you saw all that?"

"What did you see?" Batman asked, and Venom told him what he saw. "Did a name pop up?" Batman asked, concerned his secret had been compromised.

"Just one." Venom said, and Batman tensed up. "The name Joe Chill. Seeing as you don't look like a 'Joe', I'd say that was the name of the guy who shot your parents." He said, and Batman relaxed. So even though their minds were linked up, Venom had no idea that Batman was Bruce Wayne, billionaire CEO playboy philanthropist. Of course, once Venom saw Wayne's face on a magazine, it wouldn't take long for him to put two and two together. The two stood in awkward silence for a moment, before the Flash walked in.

"Venom, just the guy I was looking for! How about we go down to this great shawarma place I know of in Central City?" He asked.

"Sure, I could use a bite to eat." Venom said, glad that he found an excuse to escape from the death glare the Dark Knight was giving him. Honestly, that guy's glares could send even Kaine hiding under his bed!

Fifteen minutes later, Flash Thompson and Wally West were in the restaurant. "So what was with the Bat-Glare you were getting?" Wally asked.

"We had just finished a sparring session. He asked me about my world, and when I tried describing, the symbiote somehow linked our minds together. We both saw parts of each other's lives, and I think I saw him beneath the cowl. Didn't get a name though." Flash explained, taking a bite of his food.

"Probably a good idea to stay away from him for a few days." Wally said, and the two turned their attention to the TV.

"Today Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, announced his plans to open the Leslie Thompkins Medical Clinic in Gotham City's Park Row, known as 'Crime Alley' by the residents. The clinic will provide free medical care to all those who are the victims of criminal activities in the place nicknamed 'the Worse Place on Earth' by the residents." The news anchor said, and it cut to Bruce Wayne going over his plans for the clinic. Flash's eyes widened when he saw Wayne's face, it was the same as the one he saw in the mind meld! He was about to ask Wally about it, when several police cars, sirens blaring, drove by.

"Time to go to work." Flash said, and he and Wally quickly ran out of the restaurant, leaving a few bills to pay for the meal, and quickly changed into Agent Venom and The Flash. They pursued the cars, Venom swinging on a web line and the Flash on foot. Flash quickly ran up to a nearby squad car.

"Officer, what's going on?" He asked.

"There's a hostage situation in the Central Bank and Trust. We could really use your help." The cop said, and his partner gestured to Venom.

"Who's your buddy? I don't think I've seen him before." He asked.

"He's a friend, trust me. Just treat him like you'd treat me." The Scarlet Speedster said, and Venom swung low as Flash broke away from the car.

"What are we dealing with?" He asked.

"Hostage situation. Don't know all the details." Flash said as they arrived at the bank. They were greeted by a rather angry police captain.

"What the hell are you doing here Flash? The robbers said that if they saw you, they'd kill the hostages!" The captain yelled.

"Don't worry. I'll just-" the Flash started to say, when the captain cut him off.

"Flash, I have every bit of faith in you, but I'm not willing to risk those people's lives just because you can move fast! Now, we're in the middle of-" the captain started.

"I'll do it." Venom said.

"Who the hell are you? If I'm not going to send in Flash, who I know I can trust, why the $%# should I send you?" The captain said.

"And risk the guys getting bored and killing off the hostages?" Venom said. "Trust me, they won't know what hit them."

5 minutes later, Venom was crawling through the air ducts. 'This is so cliche. The air ducts? Who the hell thought of this? I swear, sometimes I think Deadpool's actually right about there being some sort of writer making is do all this crazy stuff. Ok, now I KNOW I'm insane if think that that nutjob's actually right.' He thought, and soon came to an air grate, a robber dressed in a tux and wearing a clown mask holding a submachine gun below it. 'Time to go to work.' Venom thought, and silently moved the grate, silently dropping down to the floor and using the symbiote to smother the mans head. He struggled before he passed out from a lack of oxygen. Venom checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive, and webbed him to the ground for safe measure before morphing his costume to match the now unconscious man's. He walked towards the banks main entrance, and saw a man wearing a blue skull mask.

"All clear on your end C? Any supers?" He asked.

"No capes, no tights." Venom said.

"You ok? You sound different."

"Uh, yeah. Just have a bit of a cold." Venom said, coughing.

"Just don't give it to me. Between my kids' college fund, my mortgage, and my ex-wife, I got enough things to worry about without getting sick." Skull-mask said.

"Tell me about it." Venom said. "Hey, what's that over there?" He said, and Skull turned to look where he had pointed, when he found himself with a ceiling-view of the room. He looked to see Venom holding him by the leg.

"What the hell C?" Skull-mask asked, and Venom dropped the disguise.

"Actually, the names Venom." The symbiotically-enhanced soldier said. "Now, tell me how many hostages there are, and how many of you there are."

" $&% you. This trick won't work on me. I used to roll in Gotham, the Bat did this to me twice! I know you'll just make it look like you'll throw me off, but you'll have a line or something to catch me." The robber said.

"See, that's the thing: I'm not Batman." Venom said. "I could drop you on the ground from here, or-" his costume changed to the more 'classic' Venom look. "-I could eat you!" He said, wrapping his tongue around the man's head for good effect.

"W-what the hell are you?" Skull mask said.

"You're worst nightmare. Now talk, before I have your brains for a snack!"

"T-there are four of us left, since you took down C. We've got six hostages all kept in the manager's office, and we're drilling into the vault, but we've got C4 as a backup if the drill takes too long." Skull said.

"Good. Now, sweet dreams!" Venom said, knocking out skull and webbing him to the ceiling. He changed into Skull's appearance as he hopped to the ground, and tapped his communicator. "Flash, I've taken down two of them. There should be three left, and they've got six hostages. They're drilling the vault, but they've got C4 as a plan B. I'll let you know when I've taken the rest down." He said, not bothering to wait for his friend's reply before heading to the managers office, where sure enough there were six hostages being watched with a man in a wrestlers mask.

"G, where's C?" Wrestler said.

"He had to take a dump. He'll be out soon." Venom said.

"Well, when nature calls you answer. I remember one job where the taco's I'd eaten the night before kicked in right as we were about to make our escape." Wrestler said, and turned his back to Venom, only to find himself webbed to the wall. Venom turned to the hostages.

"Start moving towards the exit. I'll take care of the last two." He said.

"Please, you have to protect the Statue of Bastet!" The man, obviously the manager said. "It's on loan to the Central City Muesem, but their storage room is full, so we're keeping it here while the exhibits under maintenance." He said.

"Alright, I'll do what I can." Venom said, before he made to start walking towards the vault.

"Wait! What do we call you?" One of the hostages, a woman, asked.

"You can call me Agent Venom." The symbiotic-superhero said, and started walking towards the vault. There was no more need for stealth, seeing as all the hostages were secure. He soon hear the sound of a drill going through a vault door.

"F, how much longer?"

"Chill M. We just about done, homie." Came the voices of the final two robbers, when the drill stopped. "Aight, we through dog." F said.

"Alright. If everything goes to plan, we should be in and out without having to worry about the Flash." M said.

"Well, I'm not the Flash, but I'll work just fine." Venom said, and the two turned and emptied their guns into him. To their shock, he dissolved into a pile of slime and tendrils. The real Venom dropped from the ceiling and knocked out F and shot a web line a M's feet, tripping him before wrapping him in a cocoon. "Flash, the last two are down. Are the hostages out safely?"

Outside the bank, the Flash watched as the hostages reunited with their loved ones. "Yeah, they'll be fine. A little shaken up, but I think they'll be alright." He said. Unknown to the two superheroes, the hostage who asked Venom's name was currently changing into a black leather bodysuit.

"Alright. I'll go and make sure the Statue of Bastet's alright." Venom said, and entered the vault, seeing a golden statue of a cat fighting a giant serpent. The statue itself could easily be carried by hand

"Bravo, tall dark and muscular." A feminine voice said, and Venom turned to see a woman dressed in a tight black leather suit, wearing a mask shaped like a cat's head. "That costume of yours is pretty handy. Those idiots never knew what hit them."

"You the boss for this show?" Venom asked, preparing himself for a fight.

"Please, I prefer to work alone. I was just waiting for the Flash to take these idiots out. Besides, even if I was working with someone, they'd be professionals. Granted, that guy calling the shots was pretty experienced, but I don't think anyone expected you, Agent Venom." The wan said, placing a hand on the whip on her waist.

"So you know my name. Care to tell me yours?" Venom asked, his spider sense warming him.

"The names Catwoman." She said, and lashed out with the whip, wrapping it around his wrist. She pulled it, but Venom used his super strength to pull as well, pulling her close to him. At that moment, Venom realized where he heard her voice before.

"You were that hostage who asked my name, aren't you?" He asked, and Catwoman smirked before his spider sense went off, and she swiped at him with her claws. He ducked, grabbed her wrists and threw her at the wall. She quickly recovered and bounced off the wall, and withdrew a silver tube.

"Very astute, secret agent man. Let's see how you like this." She said, pressing a button on the tube, before tossing it in the air. The device detonated and released a sonic wave, causing Venom to cry out in pain as the suit became a writhing mass of tentacles. "Well, didn't see that coming. Well, mom always said never to look a gift horse in the mouth. Later, Shoulder Pads." She said, and launched a grappling hook at the skylight outside the vault. Venom recovered after five minutes of trying to focus, hearing Flash's voice over the comm link.

"Venom, you ok?" He asked.

"Some dominatrix calling herself Catwoman just took the statue. I'm going after her, but she used a sonic grenade on me, so I need some back up." Venom said, as the suit was still acting sluggish.

"Catwoman? She's probably long gone by now. How are you tracking here?" The Flash asked.

"I put a small piece of the symbiote on her costume. I know exactly where she is." Venom said, swinging down the street, a red blur behind him.

Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman, was commonly thought of as a glorified thief. That couldn't be more untrue, she was merely an admirer of fine art. Sure, she thought most of that art would look better in her home, and she had to employ some unorthodox methods to obtain them, but that didn't make her a thief, right? She would argue philosophy another time, right now she had stopped to admire her new statue. It was a thing of beauty, representing the Goddess Bastet's fight against Chaos, who sought to devour Ra or something like that. She'd have to look it up, but this would probably go for quite a bit on the black market. "My my, aren't you a pretty one? I've got a nice place for you, just above my mantle." Catwoman said.

"I'd hold off on the decorations if I were you." A voice said, and Catwoman dodged just as a hammer-shaped tendril slammed where she had been a moment before. She followed the tendril back to its owner, seeing Agent Venom standing there.

"My my, you're just full of surprises aren't you?" She said, when a red blur zoomed by and yanked the statue out of her hands, the Flash appearing next to Venom holding the statue.

"Man, does this thing have catnip in it or something? Cause she looks pretty pissed right now." He said, as Catwoman was seething. Not even Batman could have tracked her down, she had left no evidence! Even if she had, this place was random, so how did Venom track her down? Her question was answered as a small black...thing came off her costume and slithered over to Venom, hopping onto his costume.

"Clever. That's what I get for not knowing anything about my enemy." She said, and was about to run away, when a tendril snaked out of Venom's leg and wrapped around hers, immobilizing her.

"You should just give up now. I promise we won't rough you up too much." Venom said, walking over to Catwoman.

"Y'know, I learned a valuable lesson today." She said, reaching into her bag.

"And what's that? That you'll have a better chance of finding someone if you lose the cat getup?" Venom said.

"No. It's that you do NOT like loud noises." She said, throwing another sonic grenade. The Flash covered his ears as it went off, having the same effect on Venom as before. Catwoman used the opportunity to escape, leaving Flash and Venom on the rooftop.

"She got away." Venom growled, the suit returning to normal.

"At least we got the statue." Flash said. "Plus, you saved those hostages and stopped a robbery. So all in all, a good days work." He said, and the two took off towards the bank, returning the statue.

**The Next Day**

'_Venom, please report to the bridge. There is something we wish to discuss with you_.' Flash Thompson awoke on the Watchtower, hearing J'onn's voice in his head.

'I'll be there in a minute.' He thought back, and quickly covered himself into his costume. Making his way to the bridge, he saw the rest of the League waiting for him. "Am I in trouble?" He asked.

"On the contrary. We've just been discussing your actions since you've returned to the hero business." Green Lantern said. Over the last three months, he had shaved his head and grew a goatee.

"You put your own personal pain behind you to save me and Kara from the Thanagarians, and you managed to successfully thwart two bank robberies." Superman said. "We've talked it through, and we've decided to offer you a spot on the Justice League." He said, and Venom was stunned. The only super team he'd ever been asked to join had been the Secret Avengers and the Thunderbolts, but they weren't anything like the Justice League. It was pretty overwhelming.

"You guys seriously want me to join the League? Me, the guy who literally fell from the sky." He asked, and they all nodded. "Well, alright. Count me in."

"Don't let it go to your head. This afternoon, this station is going to be a lot more crowded." The Flash said. Before Venom could ask what he meant, Batman spoke up.

"Excellent. Now, for our second order of business." Batman said, casting a glare at Hawkgirl. "Hawkgirl betrayed us. She may have hanged her mind, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that she sold us out." He said, and Hawkgirl look away.

"Now wait just a minute. I'll be the first to admit that Shayera's betrayal hurt me worse than anything, but that doesn't mean we can't forget that she turned on her own people to save is." GL said, moving in front of her.

"That still doesn't excuse what she did. On Themyscira, we were taught that bonds forged in battle were sacred, and she spat on those bonds." Wonder Woman said.

"Now hold on." Venom said. "I wasn't here for that, so I can't say I went through that, but think for a moment. She had no idea the Thanagarians were going to destroy Earth, and she sacrificed being able to go home to save you." He said. "Look, she's a soldier, and soldiers don't always do things their proud of when they follow orders. Trust me, I know." He said, thinking back to the temple his squad had bombed. "Put yourself in her shoes. Could you honestly say no if your people showed up flying a false flag of peace?" He said.

"Why don't we put it to a vote? All on favor of forgiving Shayera?" J'onn said, and he, Superman, Venom, Green Lantern, and Flash all raised their hands, leaving Batman and Wonder Woman outnumbered five to two.

"Fine. Just don't come crying to me if this comes back to bite us." Batman said. "Venom, come with me." He said, and walked to the teleporter room, Venom close behind him. The teleporter flared to life, depositing them in a dark room. "I take it you've been able to figure out my identity after our…experience yesterday."

"Your Bruce Wayne, right?" Venom asked, and Batman removed his cowl, answering Venom's question. "So why are we here?" He asked, and Batman pressed a button on the wall, raising the shutters and causing Venom's eyes to widen at the city before him.

"We're in New York." He gasped.

"Diana told me about your plans to go to New York. If you're serious about this you'll need your own headquarters." Batman said. "This is a penthouse apartment I bought for when I'm in town on business as Bruce Wayne, but I rarely use it. It's been sitting here collecting dust, and I thought I'd give it to you." He said. Venom took a look around the place. The TV was probably the biggest plasma screen Batman could find, and the computer was top of the line. "I had a teleporter installed to access the Watchtower. There's something I'd like to ask of you in return for this."

"Sure Bats. What is it?" Venom asked and Batman pressed a button, a drawer sliding out containing cases full of .45 caliber ammo, but the bullets had a slight bluish tint on them.

"I understand you do things differently, and while I don't approve of guns, I found a way for you to use them non-lethally. These are prototype hyperkinetic rounds WayneTech, my R&D division, have been developing for the GCPD. They dissipate into energy that shocks the nervous system of their targets, rendering them unconscious. We need to test them, but other than a field test there's no way to do so without the criminal firing back. So, I need you to test these and report back to me. I already took care of an identity using information J'onn gave me about you, and I've made sure you have registration papers for the guns." The Dark Knight said. "Your name is the same, but I got creative with your background. You come from Queens, and enlisted in the army during the conflict in the Gulf. Your parents and sister died in a car crash a year ago, and you've been in Wisconsin ever since."

"Wow, I don't know what to say." Venom said.

"How about 'thank you'? That's a good start." Batman said. The two took a few hours for Venom to look around his new home, when both their communicators went off.

"Batman, Venom, it's time." Came the voice of J'onn.

"We'll be right up." Batman said.

"Wait, time for what?" Venom asked, and the two made their way to the teleporter.

"What Flash told you about earlier today. Ever since you showed up, we've sent out invitations to several heroes to join the League. Today is the day all those who accept report to the Watchtower." Batman said, and the two were back on the Watchtower a flash of blue later. Venom saw dozen's of heroes. There was a man who looked some sort of cross between Iron Man and Thor, wearing a metal suit and holding a hammer. There was a girl holding some kind of cane, standing next to a giant robot; a man dressed as a cowboy; a man who's body was partially covered with robotic parts and a red eye; two teenagers, one an African-American wearing a blue coat over a black shirt with a lightning bolt on top of a circle and wearing a white mask, the other wearing a tight green short, some kind of faceplate and a high tech backpack; a faceless man wearing a blue trench coat and machine fedora; a man wearing what looked like a green Robin Hood costume talking to Green Lantern; a man dressed in gold and blue, a tiny gold robot hovering near him; a blonde woman dressed in a leather jacket and wearing fishnets; and the list of bizarre people went on and on. "Go on and mingle. There's some time before the big speech." Batman said, disappearing into the crowd.

'Alright Thompson. Keep a cool head. Sure, this is probably the largest gathering of superheroes you've ever seen, but that's no reason to be nervous.' He thought, making his way through the crowd.

"Venom! Over here!" The Flash called, and Venom turned to see him standing next to a silverish man with the symbol of an atom on his chest with an army cut and a man who's body looked like it was comprised of several different elements. "I'd like you to meet Captain Atom and Metamorpho. They're military guys like you and GL." Flash said, and he quickly zoomed off to meet other people.

"Where'd you two serve?" Venom asked.

"Air Force, Vietnam." Captain Atom said.

"Um, you look a little…young to have served in 'Nam." Venom said.

"I was enlisted in an experimental project soon after. Without this suit I'm nothing more than energy." The captain explained.

"What about you?" The former corporal asked Metamorpho.

"Marines, Desert Shield. You?" He said.

"Gulf War and Mosul. Army." Venom said, and all three saluted. "You guys are no joke. Semper Paratus and Semper Fi."

"This we'll defend, Army Man." They said, and Venom walked to mingle some more. He wasn't watching where he was walking, and bumped into a muscular teenager wearing a white costume with red wings and a hawk mask.

"You got a problem asshole?" The teenager said, and his partner, a smaller teenager with a blue costume with white wings and a dove mask, placed his hand on the larger boy.

"Hawk, calm down. It was an accident, he didn't mean anything by it. Right?" The skinnier one said.

"He's right. Didn't mean anything by it." Venom said, and extended his hand. "Agent Venom. And you two are-?"

"I'm Dove and he's Hawk." Dove said, shaking Venom's hand. "Hawk, apologize and shake his hand." He said, and Hawk rolled his eyes before complying. Hawk then stormed off, Dove trailing behind him.

"I'm guessing you and Hawk are gonna get along greatly." A female voice said, and Venom turned and saw an attractive dark haired woman dressed like a stage magician, fishnets and all. "Don't take it personally. He's the avatar of a Lord of Chaos, meaning he's easy to piss off." She said. "Zatanna Zatara, magician and sorceress extraordinaire." She said, and they shook hands.

"Agent Venom. Haven't I seen you on a few billboards?" He said.

"I'm a famous stage magician in my everyday life. What, you think I dress like this for fun?" She said.

"Doesn't that make it hard for you to maintain a secret identity?"

"I use a glamour charm on stage. The audience sees someone slightly different on stage, so they won't put two and two together if they see me with the League. And if they see me in civilian life, they see someone different when- I'm sorry, you probably don't know anything about magic. Sorry if I went over your head." She said.

"Don't. I've got a bit of…experience with magic." He said.

"Glad you two are getting along." Batman said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Bru-I mean John!" Zatanna said, hugging Batman.

"You two know each other?" Venom asked.

"I studied under her father." Batman replied, leaving it at that. "There's someone I want you to meet, Venom." He said.

"Alright. Later Zatanna." Venom said, and followed after Batman.

Jaime Reyes had gone through a lot in the past few months. He and his friend Paco had been going to a party, when a shortcut they were taking landed them in the crossfire between two groups of Supervillains. They had been fighting over a backpack, which landed in Jaime's lap. He had run with the backpack, and one of the villains, a man who had a LOT of knives, threw them at him. The knife had hit him square in the back, and it activated the contents of the backpack: a scarab of alien origins. It had covered him in the beetle-like armor he now wore, and he had ran away with Paco. Deciding to use it to fight crime as the Blue Beetle, he had fought the Thanagarians when they invaded with the help of the suits AI. Apparently it had gotten the attention of the Justice League, judging from the message that had arrived for him a week ago. Now here he was, surrounded by all these heroes. "Blue Beetle." A voice said, and soon Batman and Venom appeared. "This is Agent Venom. You should have a lot in common." Batman said, pulling a disappearing act.

'_Symbiotic entity detected. Recommend sonic barrage_.' The suits AI said.

"I'm not gonna just attack him." Blue Beetle said, then realized to his embarrassment that he had said that aloud.

Venom was confused by Blue Beetle's outburst. "Er, Agent Venom. Pleasure to meet you." He said, extending his hand.

"Blue Beetle. Sorry about that." Blue said, shaking the hand.

'_Symbiotic entity showing no signs of hostility. Host appears to have control_.' The AI said.

"See, I told you he was harmless." Blue said, then cursed as he realized he said that out loud.

"You okay?" Venom asked.

"Sorry. My armor has an AI, and it's kinda aggressive." Blue explained. "So far I haven't killed anyone, so that's a plus."

"You've got a voice in your head telling you to kill?" Venom asked, and Blue nodded. "I know what it's like. My suits an alien organism. It's a constant battle for control, and if I don't keep it sedated, it'll kill everyone." He said. "Nice to finally meet someone who understands what it's like." He saw Superman take the stage. "Looks like Big Blues got a few words to say."

"Each of you brings something different to the table. Strength, speed, stealth, whatever. But we're all equal in at least one way: each of us is willing to make the sacrifices a hero needs to make, even the ultimate one. Since there are so many of us, we have a chance to do more than put out fires, both literal and figurative. We can be proactive. We can do some real good in the world, but we're gonna have to be organized." Superman said, and gestured to where Martian Manhunter was standing. "J'onn will be keeping an eye on everything. He'll be the one to decide who goes where and when. I know a lot of you are used to making that decision yourselves, but from now on, we have to be more coordinated than that. We can't be cowboys anymore…or cowgirls." He said , earning a laugh from the group. The rest of the speech went well, and everyone dispersed, either going out on missions or hanging around the station. Venom saw Hawkgirl walk up to him.

"Thanks for sticking up for me earlier. You didn't have to do that." She said.

"Don't worry about it. I did my fair share of things I'm not proud of in the Army." He replied.

"Well, me and John appreciate it." She said.

"Anyone give you trouble?" He asked.

"I've gotten some dirty looks, but other than that no." She replied, and Venom was about to ask more questions, when the alarms sounded.

"Warning. Extra-dimensional energy detected. Einstein-Rosen Bridge forming on bridge." The computer said.

"A what?" Blue Beetle asked.

"Basically, it's a wormhole. Be ready for anything." The Atom said. Energy sparked around the bridge, until an orb of energy expanded, depositing what looked like some mind of futuristic hovercraft, with a blue 4 on the front of the ship. Venom's eyes widened when he saw the logo.

"It can't be…" he said.

"Y'know what this thing is partner?" Vigilante asked, and the four cockpits opened. Out stepped a man who looked like he was made of orange rock, a flaming man that landed on the bridge and turned into a blonde man.

"Man, that was a rough landing. Stretcho, you sure we're in the right place?" The rock-man asked, and out of the two cockpits stepped a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and a man with salt-pepper colored hair. All of them, with the exception of the rock man, were wearing white uniforms with a four on the chest.

"I'm positive Ben. I followed the trans-universal particles to this world. He's here, but we're not at his exact location." The salt-pepper haired men, stretching his arm into the cockpit and withdrawing a device. At that moment, the blonde woman noticed Venom.

"Agent Venom?" She said, and the other three all looked at him, their jaws promptly dropping? "You're alive?

"You know these guys?" Black Canary asked.

"Yeah, they're friends. Everyone, meet the Fantastic Four." Venom said.

**A/N: regarding format: I thought of making Venom and other symbiote wearing characters speak in bold, but decided against it. Chapter 2 will be edited to fix that.**

**Regarding Mania: I am aware that her fate will be decided when Venom #42 comes out on the 23rd (the final issue *sniff*), but regardless of what happens to her of what happens to Flash in the 'Darkest Hour' arc of Superior Spider-Man next month, I will ignore that and write the story as I see fit.**

**As always, don't forget to leave a follow and a review.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Conqueror's Quest

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Venom asked. The rest of the Justice League who aren't on missions watched what he would do, seeing as he seemed to know these people. He turned to the League. "Stand down. These guys own cause any trouble." He turned to the Four. "You guys won't cause any trouble right?"

"Of course." Mr. Fantastic said. "Though if we could get some assistance in a crisis, that would be wonderful."

"What kind of crisis?" Wonder Woman asked. Mr. Fantastic pulled a cube out of his uniform and placed it on the ground. Out of the cube sprung up a hologram wearing green robes, a purple helmet, and a blue faceplate.

"This is a version of an inter-dimensional criminal named Kang the Conqueror. This version of Kang was driven insane when he gained his powers, and has set out to conquer the multiverse. He showed up at our headquarters and attacked us, before we managed to force him to flee. We followed him to this world using our transdimensional craft, but I'm afraid the calculations were a bit…off, and we didn't end up at Kang's exact location." Mr. Fantastic said. "In our pursuit, the device we used to track Kang was damaged, and we now have no way of tracking him."

"What do you need?" Superman asked.

"I need your space stations sensors and recalibrate it to search for Kang's energy signature." The scientist said.

"Of course. Atom, Mr. Terrific, assist him in any way you can." J'onn said, and Mr. Fantastic was lead away by the two fellow scientists. The other three members of the Four went over to Venom.

"Dude, Pete's been worried sick about you! Where have you been?" Human Torch asked, and Venom lead them to the his quarters on the station.

"It's…kind of a long story." Venom said, and relayed the tale of how he came here, careful not to let anyone overhear.

"So you just dropped in?" The Thing asked. "Sounds like sometin you Spiders would do." He said.

"Wait, what about Jack O'Lantern?" Invisible Woman asked.

"I don't know. We must have gotten separated when we were crossing over." Venom said. "Did-did they get a proper funeral?" He asked.

"Pete made sure they did. Took care of everything himself." Torch said.

"How are the others by the way?" Venom asked.

" MJ's pregnant, so Pete's excited about that. Andi's handling Philly alright, and Brock's looking out for her, make sure she doesn't loose control. Kaine married his girlfriend, and the Thunderbolts are the same as ever." Thing said.

"Venom, bring the other three to the bridge." The voice of Mr. Terrific said over the comm. The group made their way to the bridge.

"We found him. He's in a small island in the Caribbean." Mr. Fantastic said.

"Venom, Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E, Steel, Superman, Zatanna, Fire and Ice, Dr. Light, Static, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold. Assist the Fantastic Four in defeating Kang." J'onn said, and the called members all made their ways to the teleporter.

"Dios mio." Blue Beetle said. The island looked like Father Time had thrown up all over the places. Dinosaurs, Roman warriors, and all kinds of warriors from throughout history stood behind the man from the hologram.

"So the Fantastic Four made friends with this world's heroes. No matter, you will fall nonetheless." Kang said, and sicked his army on the heroes.

"I love a challenge. Flame on!" The Human Torch said, his body becoming engulfed in flames.

"Finally, a man who gets it!" Fire said, assuming her plasma form.

"It's clobberin' time!" The Thing said, charging a T-Rex. Blue Beetle's arms changed into cannons, and he began firing at futuristic alien fighters. Human Torch shot out a wall of flame, sending cavemen running. Venom changed into his monstrous form and charged through a legion of Romans, and Static electrocuted the stragglers. Zatanna faced a woman wearing human bones in a necklace.

"A voodoo priestess? Never thought I'd face one of these." She said, and the priestess shot out a blast of dark energy at her. "Ruoy ffats si a yldaed ekans." She said, and the woman's staff turned into a boa constrictor, wrapping around the priestess's neck. Booster Gold blasted a velociraptor into a pterodactyl, and Dr. Light joined Stargirl in bombarding a giant squid that had STRIPE in its tentacles. The Fantastic Four and Superman were currently engaged with fighting Kang, Ice's unconscious form laying nearby.

"Why great-Grandfather? Under one rule, the multiverse will no longer be a cacophony of chaos and destruction." Kang said.

"Chaos will always be the way of the multiverse. There is no such thing as pure order. No matter what you do, there will always be conflict, strife, and suffering. As much as we want to change that, it's impossible to fight human nature." Mr. Fantastic said. Invisible Woman shielded a blast from Kang, and Superman sent a blast of heat vision at the conqueror, causing him to stagger.

"Bah! I knew I should have approached the version of you on Earth-1610. He would have agreed with my vision!" Kang said, and was about to send out another blast when Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Dr. Light, Stargirl, Fire, and Human Torch all blasted Kang from various angles.

"That was for Tora you interdimensional nutjob!" Fire said, when Kang blasted her into the water.

"Is this truly the best this world has to offer?" He said, when Superman slammed him into the water.

"You're about to find out!" The Man of Steel said, and Kang's eyes glowed green.

"So be it." He said, and charged Superman. They me in a clash that resulted in a massive shockwave. The enhanced strength Kang's armor gave him was no match for the strength Earth's yellow sun gave Superman, and he was thrown into the surf.

"Is it over?" Venom asked.

"No. We need to damage Kang's armor to the point it's recall system activates and takes him to his world. After that, I can ask the Prime Kang to keep an eye on him." Mr. Fantastic said.

"Why would this Prime Kang help you?" Dr. Light asked.

"The Prime Kang is the one chosen to keep the multiverse stable. All Kang's come from him, and their job is to make sure the timeline of their world stays intact." The rubber scientist replied.

"Everyone, pour everything you've got at Kang!" Superman yelled, and heat vision, green fire, regular fire, bullets, magical blasts, lasers, rockets, and the like were all fired at Kang. When the smoke cleared, they saw Kang still standing, though his armor was now heavily damaged.

"Time Armor 85% damaged. Automatic recall to Earth 2947 initiated." The armor's computer said, and Kang yelled curses in a futuristic language before vanishing into thin air. His time army soon vanished, leaving no trace they had been there.

"Well, I'll be the first to say it: That was easy." Human Torch said.

**Two Hours Later, Watchtower**

"Are ya sure ya don't wanna come with us? Pete's missin' ya." The Thing said. The Fantastic Four were preparing to go back to the Marvelverse, and Venom was saying his goodbyes to his friends.

"I'm sure. It's just…too many memories. I think I'll stay here. At least here I can finally make a difference." Venom said. "Just make sure everyone knows I'm alright."

"I guess if this is what you really want." Invisible Woman said.

"Johnny, Susan, Ben, c'mon! Franklin just called and said the Kree are invading again." Mr. Fantastic said, and the three hopped in the Fantasticar, disappearing in a ball of light.

"You guys have a hell of a first day too?" Green Lantern said, coming next to Venom in a hoverchair.

"You could say that. What about you?" Venom asked.

"Giant nuclear powered robot." GL said, and gestured to Supergirl. "She did alright. Blames herself for Captain Atom getting hurt, but she did ok." He said, and Venom noticed Green Arrow hitting on Black Canary. "Green Arrow's a bit of a loose cannon, but he'll have your back when all hell breaks loose. What did you guys do?"

"A team from my home dimension came here to stop an interdimensional time warlord. We helped then stop him." Venom replied, causing John to whistle.

"Damn. Wonder if everyone had as rough of a day as we did." The former Marine said.

"Well, I'm wiped. See ya tomorrow John." Venom said, going to the transporter. A flash of blue light later, he was standing in his new apartment, and headed towards the bedroom, when a knock sounded on the door. "Who the hell could that be?" He asked out loud, changing into his civilian persona, Flash Thompson opened the door, and saw two faces he never expected to see again. There was a man in his 40's with white hair, and with him was sixteen year old girl with glasses and blonde hair.

"Hi, I'm police captain George Stacy, and this is my daughter Gwen. We live downstairs, and thought we'd come and welcome you to the building."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Hell, live at the Apollo!

Flash Thompson stared for a moment, before he got over his shock. "Pleasure to meet you Captain. I'm Eugene Thompson, but everyone calls me Flash." He said.

"Like the superhero?" Gwen said.

"No, but you have no idea how often people ask me that. I got it playing high school football." Flash responded. "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you." George said, and the Stacy's entered the apartment.

'Ok, what the hell? Back in my world, George Stacy sacrificed himself to save a child, and Gwen Stacy was killed by the Green Goblin in an attempt to get to Spider-Man. So why the hell are they in my apartment?' Flash thought. "So George, what exactly do you do?"

"I'm in charge if the 12th precinct, home to some of the best damn detectives you'll find in Manhattan." George said. "What do you do?"

"I'm…still trying to find something. I lived in Wisconcin for about a year, and I was a high school gym teacher there." Flash replied. "I just got back in New York, and won the lottery, jackpot of one million dollars, and bought this place." Flash said. Of course the old Thompson luck had to kick in, and have him live above a freakin' police captain!

"That's neat. I'm trying to apply for an internship at Wayne BioTech." Gwen said.

"Gwen here is the top of her biology class, and is aiming to go into the field of- what was it again honey?" George said.

"Genetic Engineering."

"That's the one. Anyway, from the looks of things, she'll probably be the one to cure cancer." George said.

"So how's work? It must be hard having to run an entire precinct." Flash said.

"The paperwork's a bitch, the DA's always barking at my heels, I've got two detectives still laid up in the hospital from the Thanagarians, but all in all, it's pretty good. I might not wear a mask or fly off into space, but I do my best to keep New York safe." The captain replied. "Well, we should get going. I've got a roast in the oven, and I need to check it." He said, and he and Gwen promptly made for the door.

"Bye Mr. Thompson!" Gwen said, closing the door behind her.

"Talk about a blast from the past." Flash mumbled, and went to bed.

The Next Evening

Flash had just finished his patrol. Three attempted muggings, one car jacking, and a gas station hold up, all thwarted by New York's newest superhero. "Let's see… Rangers vs Cowboys…that Kardashian crap…dear god what happened to Miley Cyrus…cooking show…Jon Stewart…Big Bang Theory…" Flash said, flipping through the channels, until he saw a familiar face. "Zatanna?" He turned up the volume.

"Live from the Apollo Theatre in New York, Zatanna Zatara!" The announcer said, and Flash watched her perform her magic. To the average person it looked like stage tricks, but Flash knew better, having seen her in the field.

"She didn't waste any time. Might as well drop by and say hello." He said, quickly turning into Venom and swinging towards the Apollo.

"Help!" A voice said, and Venom followed the sound to see a woman being dragged into an alleyway by a slimy man.

"It's useless bitch! Ain't no one gonna help you! Now why don't you give me some sugar." He said, whipping out a knife and cutting off some of her buttons.

"That's not very neighborly of you." Venom said, dropping in front of the would-be rapist.

"Stay back, or I'll gut you like a fish!" The man said, waving his knife at Venom.

"Oh no, my only weakness: small knives!" Venom said, getting on his knees and raising his hands in mock surrender. "Please no more, I'm begging you!" He said, before yanking the knife out of the mans hand with a web. "Is this dirtbag bothering you miss?" He asked, and the woman nodded. "All I needed to hear." The former black operative said, before leaping over the man and webbing him to the ground.

"Thank you! I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you!" She said.

"Your thanks is good enough. Though calling the cops on this guy is alright too." Venom said, before swinging away.

Zatanna had just finished her show at the Apollo. Being a stage magician was one of the easiest gigs for a sorceress of her caliber. Just use enough magic to entertain the crowd, and you'd walk away with a big paycheck. "Ah New York. Never change." She said, when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." She said, and in walked a janitor, but the janitor started shifting, becoming one of the people she had met on the Watchtower earlier today. "Agent Venom, pleasure to see you again. What brings you here?"

"I saw you on TV, figured I'd swing by." Venom responded.

"You live in New York?" The magician asked.

"Just moved into an apartment our batty friend set up. You?" He asked.

"I move around a lot, but I'm bunking with Vixen in Chelsea while I'm here for a few days." She answered.

"Don't think I've met her. You'll have to introduce us later." The former secret agent said, when a scream was heard through the door. "That can't be good." He said, and they both headed towards the sound of the scream. They entered the theatre and saw a woman dressed like a witch surrounded by hordes of demons.

"Zatanna! The time has come for me to destroy you!" She said.

"The Enchantress, great. While normally I could take her, she's stirred up a lot of demons from Hell. I don't think I can handle this myself. Call J'onn and tell him-" Zatanna started, when Venom cut her off.

"No time. We need to handle there right here and now before they can get out." He said, assembling his guns. Hawkgirl had melted him some Nth metal bullets for an occasion such as this, the same bullets currently being loaded into the guns. "I've got experience with demons, so you take the Wicked Witch while I take her flying monkeys."

"You fool. You think you can stop me when Hell itself is at my disposal?" Enchantress said, and pointed at them. "Kill them!" The demons charged them, and Venom blew the head off one before another grabbed his arm. It's flesh started burning, and it screamed in pain before bursting into flames.

"What the hell did you do to it?" Zatanna asked, and blasted five demons into oblivion before turning three into rabbits.

"It's…complicated. I'll explain later." Venom replied, before morphing his arms into axes and hacking alar any demons in his way.

"Looks like you two could use a hand." A voice called out, and Venom glanced to see an African American woman in an orange leotard and some sort of talisman on her neck. She tapped the talisman before she charged through the horde. "Names Vixen. I take it you met my roommate." She said, gesturing to Zatanna.

"You could say that." Venom growled. All this demonic energy was stirring up the Hell Lord, and this had to end quickly before he lost control. A large goat demon charged Venom, who quickly changed into Monster form, but even that couldn't hold it back. A glowing purple ankh appeared in the sky, and out stepped a man wearing a blue suit, gold cape, gloves, and boots, wearing a golden helmet. The man blasted the goat demon, and descended down to Venom.

"Greetings Agent Venom. My name is Dr. Fate, and I have come to assist you." Fate said.

"Fools! Even Nabu can't save you from my power!" Enchantress said, and shot a blast of energy at Fate. He blocked it and sent his own blast at her.

"Do not overestimate your power. Few can stand up to a Lord of Order." Fate said. "You may have Hell behind you, but that power is insignificant compared to that of Nabu." An ankh formed around his hand, and he fired it at Enchantress. She fired her own blast at him. They were locked in a stalemate for a few seconds, before the Enchantress's spell won out, knocking Fate into the wall.

"Pathetic! Not even the Devil himself could challenge me!" She boasted.

"Careful…what you…wish for." Venom wheezed out. It was taking everything he could to stay in control, but he couldn't so this for much longer.

"Venom? Are you ok?" Zatanna asked.

"Kill them all!" Enchantress said, and the demons surrounded the four heroes.

"Zatanna…Vixen…**_get back_**." Venom said, clutching his chest in pain as his voice took on a demonic tone.

"Are you sure you're ok? You need to-" Vixen started, when half of an upside down pentagram appeared on Venom's chest, his fangs appearing and tongue coming out.

"**_I said GET BACK_**!" He yelled, and all the demons moved away, leaving the magic wielders in the room stunned.

"Impossible… a Hell Lord? Here?" Fate said, and Zatanna thought she heard…was that fear? She had known Fate a long time, but she had never heard him like this before.

"What's a Hell Lord?" Vixen asked.

"One of 12 demons hand picked by the Devil himself to one day succeed him as Ruler of Hell." Zatanna said.

"**_Remember when that demon exploded from touching me_**?" Venom said, his voice pained and demonic. "**_Yeah, this is why_**."

"You're still in control? But how?" Enchantress asked. It was supposed to be simple: grab a LOT of demons, attack Zatanna, kill her. Nowhere in the plan did she factor in one of the Devil's Chosen!

"**_Only have half of one. Long story._**" Venom replied. "**_Half it's power, half it's consciousness. Still more than you can handle_**." He pointed at the portal. "**_Go home._**" All the demons obliged, scurrying back into the portal and sealing it behind them. Venom started to reach for his belt, when his body started shaking. He started screaming in pain, before he started laughing. His face extended and grew horns, his body grew, and two bat wings sprouted from his back.

"**_Finally I'm free! That foolish mortal thought he could keep me suppressed, then he split me in half. But now, I'm finally free_**!" The Hell Lord said.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Hell, Live at the Apollo part two

Stage Model Mari Jiwe McCabe, better known as Vixen, had thought she had seen it all when she fought the Thanagarians. But standing here in the Apollo, watching as Agent Venom, one of her new teammates in the Justice League, told a bunch of demons to Lisa off, then watching as he turned into something out of a nightmare, it made Vixen feel way out of her league (no pun intended). "_**Foolish mortals. Bow down to me**_!" Venom's possessed form said.

"Never!" The Enchantress yelled, and began hurling magi energy bolts at the Hell Lord. It blocked them all, and flew over to her.

"**_Pathetic_**." It said, and thrust it's hand into her chest. She exploded with magical fire, and when it withdrew its hand, the fire subsided, leaving a confused brunette woman in her place.

"What-? Where am I?" The woman asked. Dr. Fate summoned a glowing ankh that enveloped the woman.

"I have sent June Moon to a safe location. Right now, we cannot afford to worry about her while we fight this." He said.

"And just how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Vixen asked, when the chairs near her were enveloped by a black aura and flung at the Hell Lord. Vixen looked up to see a young woman with a blue hood and black unitard descending from the sky.

"Raven? I thought you were in Jump City with the Titans." Zatanna said.

"I felt the surge if demonic energy here and came as fast as I could." Raven said.

"**_You_**." The Hell Lord said, pointing at Raven. "**_You have the stench of Trigon radiating off of you."_**

"So what? Still doesn't mean I can't beat you." She said, and her eyes glowed white. "Azarath Metrios Zinthos!" She yelled, and pipes came from the ground as walls and wrapped around the demon. "Vixen, call the Martian Manhunter and tell him what's going on. We'll deal with this." The half-demon said. Vixen took cover as the three magic users engaged their possessed teammate.

"Watchtower, come in. This is Vixen. Someone get me J'onn right now!" She yelled into her communicator.

"This is Watchtower. What's going on down there?" J'onn asked. Vixen quickly explained Venom's transformation, and the last Martian thought for a moment. "I have an idea. Make sure he stays in one place for thirty seconds.."

"Easier said than done." Zatanna grunted out, as the demon knocked Fate back with a blast of Hellfire. "Here goes nothing." She said, and threw up a shield as a blast of hellfire came her way. It held long enough for the fire to fizzle out. "Dnib mih ot eht pots!" She yelled, and tendrils of magic energy held him in place, though they wouldn't Matt for long. Fate and Raven strengthened it with their own binding spells, and Vixen channeled the strength of an elephant and wrapped her arms around the Hell Lord.

"Hope whatever J'onn has in mind works." She grunted out, and they were rewarded when they all experienced the familiar blue flash and feeling of being disassembled associated with the teleporters. They were deposited in a large cathedral, and Venom's possessed form cried out in pain. The Hell Lord was weakened from being on Holy ground, and a tendril extended out of Venom's back, a syringe coming through the tentacle. It jabbed it into his arm, and the pentagram vanished from Venom's chest, his body returning to normal.

"Is he alive? Vixen asked, and was answered when Venom stirred before sitting up.

"Ugh, why do I feel like my head was just thrown through a blender, and promptly thrown underneath a bus?" He asked, rubbing his head.

"You mean you don't remember?" Zatanna asked.

"Last thing I remember is the Enchantress showing up, now we're wherever here is." He said. Zatanna and Vixen filled him in on what happened, and he cursed under his breath.

"Agent Venom, how did you get one of the Devil's Chosen bonded to your soul?" Dr. Fate asked. Venom told them of Blackheart's invasion of Vegas, and how when Blackheart killed him, Red Hulk, X-23, and Ghost Rider, Mephisto had offered them a second chance in exchange for defeating Blackheart, but Mephisto had failed to mention that he had bonded a Hell Lord to Venom's soul. He then went on to tell of how the demon inadvertently caused the symbiote to spawn another, and how Mephisto had split the demon in half, putting one half in the Venom symbiote and the other in the Mania symbiote.

"Wait, a demonic invasion of Vegas? When did that happen?" Zatanna asked. "If something like that happened, I'd think that we'd have noticed. And who's Blackheart?" Venom thought for a moment, before he decided that their was no point in hiding it.

"I'm…not exactly from this universe. I was at a pretty low point back home, but somehow I ended up here in this world about three months ago." He explained, and Zatanna could here the pain in his voice when he spoke about his world.

'Just what happened to him there?' She thought.

Two Days Later

Two figures watched a video screen that showed Agent Venom swinging through New York. One of the figures was a bald man wearing a suit, the other a black woman with short black hair and a blue business skirt. They were Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller. "Remind me Lex, why are we watching this? It's just another superhero, albeit one I've never seen before." Waller said. She was in charge of Project Cadmus, a government operation that was a fallback strategy if the Justice League ever went rouge.

"Because, my dear Amanda, this is Agent Venom. He showed up a few months ago, and has made New York his home. I've determined his powers from information I've gathered since he made his debut." Luthor said, and a readout appeared next to Venom on the screen. "The ability to produce some sort of organic webbing." The screen changed to show Venom running up a wall. "The ability to cling to most surfaces." The screen changed to show Venom lifting a large support beam, allowing the trapped construction workers to escape. "Super strength." The screen changed to footage of Venom during the bank robbery. "The ability to somehow manipulate his suit to his will." Footage of Venom assuming the bank robbers form. "Shapeshifting." And then to footage of Venom changing into his monstrous form. "And the ability to turn into THAT and back."

"Lex, as informative as this was, how does this involve me or Project Cadmus?" Waller asked.

"Because, that suit of his appears to be of alien origins, possibly from when the Thanagarians invaded. If I could reverse engineer it, I could create an army of super-soldiers!" Luthor said, getting a maniacal glint in his eyes.

"Agent Venom is a member of the Justice League. If he disappears and they so much as suspect you, this will ruin your shot at getting the Presidency." Waller said. They were currently aiming for Luthor to get the senate position at the midterm elections, then get him in the White House when the next presidential election came.

"Amanda, I'm aware of that. But it could be the perfect weapon to use against the Justice League!" Lex said.

"Right now, Galatea and Project Ultimen are the best weapon against the League should they ever go rouge. I you can get a sample of that suit, I may consider it. But for now, focus on winning that election." Waller said, walking away.

'That fool. Doesn't she see the problem in using the Supergirl clone? Being 'good' is practically hardwired into that blasted Kryptonian DNA.' He thought, then got an evil grin. 'I know just the person for the job.' He reached into his pocket and dug out his cell phone, made sure the line was encrypted, and dialed a number.

"Hello?" The gruff voice on the other end.

"Slade, it's Luthor. I've got a job for you."


End file.
